UCI confirm cancellation of men's and women's WorldTour events in China

The UCI have confirmed the cancellation of all scheduled men's UCI WorldTour and Women's WorldTour events in China for the rest of the season, at the request of the races' organisers, due to continuing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The men's Tour of Guangxi, which had been rescheduled for November 5-10, and two women's races – the Tour of Chongming Island (October 23-25) and the one-day Tour of Guangxi (November 10) – have all been cancelled, the UCI said in a statement on Tuesday.

Guangxi organisers Wanda Sports had already announced the cancellation of their two events earlier this week, but the world governing body's further confirmation of the expected cancellation of the Tour of Chongming Island means that no competitions will go ahead in China for the rest of this year.

"The UCI is sorry that the 2020 UCI International Road Calendar will not include these races, which play an important role in the development of road cycling, not only in China but more widely in Asia," read the statement. "Moreover, it wishes to thank the organisers concerned for their cooperation in this difficult situation and looks forward to the staging of their events in 2021.

"The [men's] 2020 UCI WorldTour will therefore finish with the Vuelta a España (October 20-November 8), while the 2020 UCI Women's WorldTour will draw to a close on November 8 with the Ceratizit Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta (Spain)," it said.

At the same time, the UCI added that, due to the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympic Games from 2020 to 2021, next year's UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Cascais, Portugal, have been brought forward from late August to June 9-13, 2021.

"The UCI is pleased to have found the optimal solution with the event's organisers and thanks them for their collaboration," the governing body said.